This is my 30th winter w/cleaning and I have to admit its the toughest spell of weather we are working through.
For the last 3 to 4 weeks None of my w/c friends who live where I do which is in Lancaster, North west of England have worked because of the cold weather.
We are still working all be at a reduced rate, First I am not knocking anyone who is sitting at home waiting this cold snap out. But be warned you may have a long wait if the cold snap lasts till the end of March ,will you survive?
For me if its possible to work ,I work, If its to cold for me not to work I wont. At the moment its not cold enough to stop me. FACT. So here are some positive tips on how I am working with the temp below freezing.
My van sides are fully insulated and plylined,it helps to keep the van warmer. The van is parked next to the house with a small van heater set just above the frost setting so the temp inside the van is kept at a constant 5 degrees C. When I am ready to start work I turn the temp up on the heater to full for 20mins so its a tropical 20 degrees C in the van.
We start work at 11am. 3 hours later then normal, this morning the mercury read -4 degrees C when we set off. I have a window cleaners bucket with lid on which is 3/4 full of very very hot water. This bucket is then covered over completely with insulated foil bubble wrap. Being silver foil it reflects all radiant heat back to its source so the water will stay hot for 3 to 4 hours. If the brush head freezes at any stage during the working day or the valve freezes or pole hose they are placed in the hot bucket of water briefly to unfreeze.
All the telescopic pole sections are given a coating of a special patented ceramic oil. This is thicker then WD40 and lasts far longer. It stops water forming on the pole sections so the pole sections will not freeze up during the day and it helps the pole sections to really glide in use.
Footwear - wear snow boots they are water proof ,warm and they will give you the best grip available on snow and ice. You will be amazed at the grip on ice.
Be selective in the areas you work. I have a days work in a village that’s 2 weeks late as its colder there by 3 degrees then any where else. I know if I go there I will freeze up, so I don’t go. I avoid hills were the van could get stuck and I chose work and position the van if I can with the sun shining into the van as there is a little warmth in the radiant heat of the sun.
The temperature is colder in the shade then the sun so we will clean the tops in the shade then move round to the sunny side clean all the tops then back to the shady side to clean the bottoms. We clean all windows on a reduced flow. All doors cleaned by hand. Any front or back door steps that water drops onto from window above which have been cleaned with very little water are wiped down.
I only collect the money when the hoses and poles are back in the van. You want the water to keep flowing when working as its less likely to freeze.
I have a thermometer in the van and I can manage to keep working up until - 2 degrees C.
We stop work at 3.30pm approximately as the temp is starting to drop and if you stay out beyond this time you will freeze up. Ok its only 4 ½ hours work a day but at least we are ticking over and some money is coming in. Most houses have gas central heating so if its on the windows wont freeze.
If you don’t want to work in it then don’t. But for me I will work till my brushes freeze over.
Keep safe Neil